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E39 (1997 - 2003) The BMW 5-Series (E39 chassis) was introduced in the United States as a 1997 model year car and lasted until the 2004 when the E60 chassis was released. The United States saw several variations including the 525i, 528i, 530i and 540i. -- View the E39 Wiki

I just picked up a 2000 528i from my friend with 168k miles . Sadly, its an auto . I think I am going to love it though! He has done all the required maintenance so far. Right now, the thermostat and the oxygen sensor are due.

My 94 Accord now has 258k miles and it shows no signs of dieing anytime soon. I expect it to go well beyond 350k miles. I am worried about the maintenance costs of the BMW. The Accord, all I ever paid for was parts. Anything that needed replacing, I DIY.

How many miles are you guys getting out of your E39 and how much problem free is it?

I am OK with doing maintenance work on it, but just want it to still be reliable.

Well... like I said... I let off when the speedo went past 260 by half way. I think I was doing 265 kph. The e39 speedo is pretty accurate. Only reads about +3% on my car verified via my GPS/Navi.

Really don't want to "thread jack" this thread... but I have driven faster in my "other" bmw. A tuned 135i with just a (German) flash tune and a open V-Max. My 135i makes about ~380 PS and 520Nm, 6MT. I have seen 283 kph via my GPS on that car. A few times I've gone faster but I did not have my GPS with me! The 535i is much easier to drive fast(V-Max) than the 1er.

Here is a little video I made in my 135i driving back from Munchen a few months back. I really wasn't driving too fast for my own comfort level. Plus it was at night! lol I know some of the safety Nazi's will be busting my balls over this... but here goes...

245,500 miles and rolling along well--will be doing the cooling system for the second time over the holidays--if you haven't as of yet--change out the Vanos seals for the old ones in your car--that will bging her back to life--check out Besian Systems for all the info

i bought my 97 528i in Feb 2011 and it had 141,000. now its got 154,000 miles. its pretty reliable. it overheated one time, but im not a big DIY person, so i had to pay to get it fixed... but nothing too crazy. still love my car !